Tag Archives: chronic disease

Canada Joins the International Human Epigenome Consortium – Q&A with Tomi Pastinen of Génome Québec

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Chris Womack

In an ambitious project investigating the interplay of environment, disease, and epigenetics, Canada is funneling $41 million into epigenomics research. It’s a multi-pronged effort to scrutinize a variety of tissue samples, disease states, and responses to environmental insults, so I called up Tomi Pastinen, the Canada research chair in human genetics, to learn more about the project. Here’s a lightly edited transcript of our conversation. But first, more about the project itself. It’s Canada’s entrée into the International Human Epigenome Consortium, and its announcement last week follows closely on the heels of last year’s launch of a European IHEC effort, BLUEPRINT (see our interview with the project’s Henk Stunnenberg here). While BLUEPRINT focused on blood epigenomes, which is common in … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Models, Applications, DNA Methylation, Epigenome, Gene Regulation, Genomewide Methylation Profiling, Histone Modifications, Metabolism, Neuroscience, Next Gen Sequencing, Sodium Bisulfite Sequencing, Transcriptome | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Exercise & Rapid Muscle Methylation Changes – Q&A with Romain Barrès

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Chris Womack

Right after biking — and probably even rowing or slaloming — your muscle cells make quick epigenetic DNA alterations that epigeneticists previously considered long-lived and often long-to-form. And the amount of change depends on the intensity of exercise. To find out more about the upshot for this rapidly changing field, for epigeneticists themselves, for possible diabetic treatments, and even for good ol’ Lamarck himself, I spoke to lead author Romain Barrès, who conducted the research with colleagues at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, the University of Copenhagen, and Dublin City University. Within 20 minutes of acute exercise, the DNA in muscle cells becomes demethylated at certain gene-promoter sites — there’s no full account of all the changes yet, but Barrès and colleagues … Continue reading →

Posted in DNA Methylation, Gene Regulation, Genomewide Methylation Profiling | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Maybe a Few Moving Parts — Genes, Disease, and Priorities

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Chris Womack

In case you missed it, there’s a dust-up in the online bioscience community about whether or not the Human Genome Project and genomic association studies in general have been worth the effort. While it’s great to debate whether gene sequences are helping humanity understand disease, they’re only a part of those convoluted processes, and it’s a little strange that’s not part of the conversation. The latest salvo struck last week in the form of a Guardian column by Bioscience Resource Project Executive Director Jonathan Latham, ominously titled “The Failure of the Genome.” Among all the genetic findings for common illnesses, such as heart disease, cancer and mental illnesses, only a handful are of genuine significance for human health. Faulty genes … Continue reading →

Posted in Genetics, History & Trends, Nutrigenomics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment